Spooky season has come and gone, and the bottles of dark reds and bright bubblies we drank during our Halloween festivities are sitting empty in the recycling bin. And now, preparation for the biggest food holiday of the year can begin.
The Thanksgiving party, whether celebrated with friends, family, or just you and your dog, is the annual feast-to-end-all-feasts, featuring a wide array of different dishes designed to tickle your tastebuds with endless pairing possibilities. And that’s just the food. November is wine season, and time for carefully selected viticultural pairings to shine and elevate every course of your traditional seasonal meal.
Thanksgiving is a fan favorite here at Argaux, so of course we’ve put together a selection of wine pairings curated to match your turkey-day spread, along with some other very special treats guaranteed to make November 25, 2021 the best Thanksgiving ever. Let’s dive in!
For the turkey
Normally in these kinds of posts, we would be saying something like this: if you’re looking to make a perfect pairing, you should be trying to match your wine to the precise ingredients going into your brine, your spices, your stuffing, and the other aspects of preparation which are going to influence the flavor of your turkey. This year we’re taking a stand. And here it is:
The One & Only Wine(s) For Your Bird:
White Wine: 2017 Flaneur ‘Cuvee Constantin’ Chardonnay – $40
What’s really magical about this spectacular Oregon Chardonnay is that so many of the tasting notes perfectly match the flavors you might try to bring out in your Thanksgiving feast.
Red Wine: 2016 Chateau de Montfrin AOP Cotes du Rhone ‘A La Douceur d’Aller’ Rouge – $40
This wine is truly November in a bottle. This wine is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache from the southern Rhone Valley. It has notes of black cherry, blackberry liquor, pepper and baking spices from the subtle oak influence. On the palate the tannins are smooth and the body is structured with a finish of dark chocolate, toffee, and espresso beans.
For the host
If you are a guest this year, make sure showering your gracious host with viticultural thank-you gifts is at the top of your to-do list. From the Argaux vaults, we recommend the Chez ‘Gaux Kitchen Essentials bundle to show the hostess with the mostess, or the chef de cuisine a sample of love and appreciation they can really taste.
This bundle features a collection of beloved basics that every oenophile should have on hand during the day-to-day. Pick your price point and select whether you’d like white, red, or a mix of wines and present your host with a 3 pack of delicious classics from the Argaux collection.
For the guests
If you are holding the role of host this year, keep your guests’ glasses always half-full with the fall edition of our Seasonal Six Pack. Included bottles for 2021 are:
- 2020 Domaine Marc Portaz Vin De Savoie Apremont – Bring a little sunshine to your autumnal table with this crisp and floral alpine white.
- 2019 No Name Santa Barbara County Chardonnay – Who needs pie when you have this sweet and creamy Chard at the table?
- 2019 Cherrier Frères Sancerre Rouge – A delicious and accessible essential that’s perfect for Thanksgiving desserts by the fireside.
- 2019 Flaneur Pinot Meunier – If you have nothing else on your Thanksgiving table, have this. Seasonal spices elevated by florals and fruits make it a November staple.
- 2016 Château des Antonins Bordeaux Rouge – A classic and elegant red blend that’s as at home at formal feasts as casual Thanksgiving dinners spent on the couch.
- 2020 Guido Porro Dolcetto d’Alba “V. Pari” – If you’re subbing your traditional Thanksgiving dishes for something wild (let’s say pizza), you want this wine. If you’re going for the tried-and-true spread, all the way down to the candied carrots, you want this wine.
For the toast
A Thanksgiving toast calls for something sparkling. This year, why not try switching out the traditional Champagne or other white bubbly for a carbonated red? May we suggest the NV Fattoria Moretto Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Secco?
This dry, sparkling red has all the depth and intrigue of a really good red wine, with the delightful effervescence of a more customary toasting libation. Deep terroir and red fruits alongside savory herbs make this an ideal autumnal drink for sharing your gratitude amongst friends and family. It’s also a wonderful pair for your usual Thanksgiving spread.
To your health!
For the vibe
Wine isn’t all we curate here at Argaux. Part of wine culture is creating the perfect vibe in which to sip your favorite vino — so we made a playlist!
We’re a big fan of just hitting shuffle and seeing what happens, but we also know that the soundtrack is just as important as the menu when it comes to cultivating the right flavors for your Thanksgiving party. And the tunes we’ve put together are bound to go down just as smoothly as a glass of 2020 Cargaux Pinot Noir.
Check out our Spotify playlist for a sample of some of our favorite November beats.
For your Thanksgiving leftover sandwich
Have you ever thought about what wine pairs best with your turkey day leftovers? Vanessa Price has, and as a gift to the world, she wrote those thoughts down in her book Big Macs & Burgundy — Wine Pairings for the Real World. And Argaux teamed up with Vanessa to make choosing wines for your cottage pie and your turkey-and-cranberry-on-rye even easier with our Food & Wine Pairing 101 kit.
Simply select premium or standard, as well as the number of bottles you want, and receive 2 – 4 hand-picked wines perfect for your Black Friday snacking, as well as a copy of Vanessa’s book to keep you company all winter long.
